U.G.L.Y (21 page)

I
looked
at
her
and
started
to
talk.
telling
her
more
about
my
self,
who
I
was and
what
I
did
for
a
living.
I
told
her
about
my divorce
and
the
struggle
to
keep
my
kids
in
my
life.

I figured I sounded pretty boring and messed up to her. I  w
anted
her to feel that I was not a threat, but I
didn't
want
her
to get
attached
to
me either
.
If
I
was
clear
about
being
a
geeky
middle
aged
scientist
that
was
dumped
by
his
ex-wife
and was an emotional mess,
maybe
there
would
be
no
chance
that
she
would
consider
me
worth
pursuing.
Once
we
got
to
a
safe
populated
area
she
would
move
on
and
that
was
fine.

    
Interestingly,
she
had
a
story
to
tell
herself.
S
he
had
been
married and
had
a
son.
B
ut
her
husband
was
killed
in
the
military
and
she
couldn't
cope.
She
said
she
had
a
meltdown
and
left
her
son
with
her
mother
and
hadn't
looked
back.
She
hated
herself
for
it
but
couldn't
bear
to
be
reminded
of
her
husband
or
the
life
she
had
before.

S
he
had
been
traveling,
for
years
now.
Staying
with
friends
and
hooking
up
with
strangers.
She
got
into
drugs
pretty
heavy
for
a
while. As she talked
she
pulled
a
vial
out
of
her
shorts
pocket,
dipped
a
nail
file
in
and
snorted
it.

     I didn't do a very good job of pushing her away. A
s
the
night
wore
on
she
got
closer
to
me
by
the
fire.
E
ventually
she
snuggled
up
against
my
chest
and
wrapped
her
arms
around
me
.

I
didn't
respond,
but
was
very
aware
at
how
warm
she
was
and
I
could
feel
her
breasts
pressed
against
me
.
I
started
to
get
aroused
but
quickly
focused
on
something
else.
After
some
time
she
drifted
off
to
sleep
and
I
unwrapped
her
arms
and
laid
her
next
to
me
on
the
ground.

I
didn't
know
if
we
were
safe
here
but
I
was
tired and wanted to sleep.
I
hadn't
slept
in
days
and
desperately
needed
to
rest.
The
emotional
ups
and
downs
of
the
previous
two
days
had
left
me
feeling
raw.
The feeling
took
me
back
to
a
time
when
I
wasn't
certain
I
would
make
it
through
the
day.

I
closed
my
eyes
and
pictured
the
woman
from
my
past.
O
ne
that
I
had
a
clear
memory
of.
Some
peace
came
over
me. I
faded
off
to
sleep.

18
/19
.

-North-

    
Eve
opened
her
eyes
and
was
facing
the
smoldering
fire.
S
he
sat
up
and
looked
around,
finding herself alone.
She
remembered
what
was
happening
and
quickly
got
to
her
feet.

“
Duncan
!
”
she
yelled
“
Dunc...
”

“
Shhhhh
” I snapped at her as I
walked
back
through
tall
grass
towards
the
fire.
“
Keep
quiet,
we're
not
alone
”.

“
Is
it
those
things
on
the
TV?
”
she
was
getting
scared
now
and
her
voice
was
wavering.

“
No,
but
these
guys
might be
just
as
dangerous
if
they
find
us
”.

    
Over
the
hill
was
a
group
of
men
that
had
pulled
up
in
the
early
hours
before
the
sun
came
up.
I
didn't
know
if
it
was
worth
risking
getting their attention by hanging out too long
. I headed back to the car to look for my gun.

Its
possible
they
were
just
a
group
of
hunters,
not
aware
of
what
was
going
on
and
not
out
to
looking
for
resources.
Maybe
it
was
too
early
for
the
apocalyptic
human
desperation
scenario
to begin
playing
out.

I
couldn't
risk
it.
I
had
supplies
and
a
woman
with
me
and
if
they
wanted
any
of
it,
they
might
do
anything
to
get
it
.
I
signaled
to
her
to
pack
up.
J
ust
as
we
finished
getting
the
car
loaded, a
man
walked
over
the
hill
and
stopped.
He
was
carrying
a
rifle
and
wearing
military
fatigues.
My
stomach
sank,
I
had
a
gun
but
it
was
in
the
car
and
not
loaded.

The
man
raised
his
arm
and
yelled
“
Hi!
Sorry
if
we
woke
you
folks,
were
just
starting
out
for the
day
and
didn't
know
anyone
was
out
here
”.

“
Thank
god!
” I said out loud. T
hese
guys
were
just
out
for
the
weekend.
“
No
problem
” I
yelled
back
“
We
have
been
up
for
a
while,
just
packing
up
and
heading
out.
”